Five Things to Know about the Gaza Deal

The main elements of the first phase of the plan include releasing all living hostages held by Hamas

President Trump announced on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a plan to end the two-year old war in Gaza and establish a durable peace.

Five Things to Know about the Gaza Deal

Trump’s 20-point plan was designed to jump-start months of stalled negotiations between Israel and Hamas. After both sides agreed in principle to the plan, Trump sent his special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to Egypt to finalize negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s top adviser Ron Dermer and Qatar’s prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also went to Egypt for the talks.

A host of details still need to be resolved in a subsequent phase of the agreement, including how the Gaza enclave is to be governed, who will provide security, and Israeli demands that Hamas be disarmed.

These are the main elements of the first phase:

All living hostages held by Hamas are to be released.

There are 48 hostages, about 20 of whom are believed to be alive. Trump said in a social-media post that it will happen “very soon” and a person familiar with the agreement said their release will come by Monday at the latest.

The bodies of hostages who have died are to be handed over later.

Hamas has said it would need at least 10 days to locate bodies of dead hostages, according to people close to the talks.

Israel will release Palestinian prisoners.

Once all the hostages are returned, Israel is expected to release 250 Palestinians who are in Israeli prisons and 1,700 Palestinians who have been detained in Gaza during the conflict. Precisely who is on that list is being finalized.

Hamas has pushed to get as many big-name prisoners released as possible, including Marwan Barghouti, whom Israel jailed over his role in a Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s.

Israeli troops on guard near the border with the Gaza Strip..

Israel Defense Forces will withdraw from 70% of the enclave.

Trump’s plan includes a map of the withdrawal lines but without exact locations or coordinates. The final lines to which the Israeli military will withdraw may still be under discussion.

The Rafah crossing with Egypt will open.

The crossing will open after the cease-fire comes into effect to facilitate aid deliveries, and allow for entry and exit of Palestinians.

Write to Michael R. Gordon at michael.gordon@wsj.com